Monday Mailbag – September 14th

Can you believe it’s finally the week of the Golden Bears and Oilers rookie game? Seriously! Go check your calendars to make sure I’m not dreaming – I’ll wait here. Okay good. The problem with feeling all this excitement is that we have to wait all the way until Wednesday for Connor McDavid and the other rookies to suit up against the Bears at Rexall Place. Luckily the mailbag is here to help you kill a little bit of that time. If you’d like to have a question featured you can email it to me at baggedmilk@oilersnation.com or DM me on Twitter at @jsbmbaggedmilk.

Taylor Hall is an experienced NHLer.

I think Gregor already answered this pretty succinctly last week. Hall and McDavid have already spent time together this summer, so I’m assuming they became fast friends, and it’s definitely an easier transition to move in with someone you’re familiar with than someone who is more or less a stranger. McDavid is 18 and ODDLY enough it seems he’d rather live with someone closer to his age than go to another billet-style situation that he’s been living in since he was 15.  I think these rumours of Taylor Hall’s “character problems” are ridiculously exaggerated and I guarantee that once the team starts finding success they’ll “magically” disappear. Also, Taylor Hall is going into his SIXTH season in the league, and is a game away from 300 played in the NHL. I don’t know how much more experience people think he needs, but I’m pretty sure he’s got a decent handle on the rigours of an NHL season. And if anyone can relate to the pressures of being a number one pick coming into a down and out Oilers team with Rocky Mountain size expectations, it’s Taylor Hall. 

And it’s also pretty insulting to Connor McDavid; everyone and their grandma has talked up and down about what solid character McDavid has, and that he’s mature beyond his years. Yet people have this idea that he moves in with “bad boy” Taylor Hall and overnight he’s going to become the second coming of Alex Daigle? Dumb. He’ll be fine and they’ll score 200 points as line mates and everyone will demand the entire team live together in a giant commune underneath the new arena.

I think Connor McDavid is a rare player and person. I don’t believe it’s an issue at all.

I wouldn’t say you’re being unreasonable; lots of people here will tend to agree with you. Frankly, though, I’m a little amazed at the play this is getting in Oil Country. I’m not sure why people seem to think that having McDavid live with Hall instead of someone like Matt Hendricks is going to make a big difference in terms of what happens on the ice.

It is about who Connor McDavid is most comfortable with. It is McDavid’s choice. I have no issue with it. Hall has five years’ experience — he isn’t a rookie.

Hall has been through a lot in his NHL career so far. He has some experience and is hungry to turn this team around. I think they could rub off on each other in a positive way.

It’s not entirely unreasonable to want that, but I wouldn’t get too mixed up about it. Try to remember who you were living with when you were 18. Most of us never lived with NHL veterans when we reached adulthood and I’m going to wager a solid 70% of us never turned into murderers without that guidance. McDavid is a smart kid who has done the right thing his whole life. Chances are if he hasn’t rebelled into some weird goth phase already, then he probably never will. 

I think people are looking too much into the fact that Connor McDavid is living with Taylor Hall. Put it this way: if you’re Connor McDavid, would you really want to live with an older guy and his family? I understand that it would likely be a more mellow environment (living with an older player that is), but you also have to think of the kid’s happiness, and he would likely have a better time living with peers. 

Next to none. The real measure begins in pre-season against line-ups featuring a handful of NHL veterans and escalates when the regular season begins. 

Very little. Obviously if he gets no points and looks invisible out there I’ll start getting a little nervous, but the rookie tournament is nowhere close to the pace and skill of an actual NHL game. I distinctly remember a few rookie tournaments ago when Tyler Bunz played lights out. “THIS GUY IS THE FUTURE OF THE CREASE” I screamed at no one in my empty apartment. Last I heard he’s trying to get a PTO in the ECHL somewhere. I look at it the same as the Billy Moores Cup; it’ll be fun to watch McDavid light it up and should be a slight proxy of what’s to come in the regular season, but at the end of the day these are still just exhibition games against other rookies and prospects. Just sit back and enjoy the show!

I don’t think it has any impact, but clearly seeing him do well is what we’re all cheering for. I hope he lights up the Flames and Canucks for 100 points, but that may not be reasonable.

None whatsoever. I doubt we’ll see him running at full speed in that tournament.

None. Do not analyze every shift. Do you remember how Hall, Eberle and RNH performed at their rookie camps? I don’t either, because it means virtually nothing as to how he will play in NHL.

Right around zero. We already know what he can do against his peers. I am looking forward to seeing him against NHL level competition.

All the stock. No, I don’t know. Not nearly as much stock as his performance in the OHL over his entire junior career. We’ll see his skills on display I’m sure. When these answers come out we’ll already know what he looks like in competition wearing Oiler silks.

None. A good chunk of the players featured won’t ever play in the NHL, and won’t accurately represent the competition he’ll face in the NHL. If he lights it up – cool. If he doesn’t – who cares? I’m waiting for the NHL.

Pretty sure we’ve already answered this a few times *tips glasses to edge of nose, looks at Baggedmilk*, but like I said earlier this summer I’d love to catch a game in Chicago, purely because my body would turn into one giant goose bump during the American national anthem.

Madison Square Garden. It’s been a goal of mine for many years, hope to make it someday. My Dad visited New York after the war and when I was a kid told me about fights he’d heard on the radio from there (and games from Yankee Stadium or Ebbets Field that he’d read about or listened to on radio).

I’d like to watch a game in Montreal; love them or hate them, the Habs are a franchise that inspires passion. And, since we’re dreaming here, I’d love for that game to be a Game 7 situation against the Bruins.

MSG.

I look forward to seeing a game in the new arena here in Edmonton.

I would love to watch a game in Chicago. Place is always rocking these days.

I’ve always wanted to watch a game at MSG or in Montreal. I think that the environment in those two barns would be pretty electric and interesting to be a part of. 

A Donkey Meter. A device that would detect and alert security to the minority of hopelessly intoxicated stooges and insufferable potty-mouthed goofs who ruin the game experience for others. 

BIGGER SEATS! I’m 6’4”, 200+ pounds and I can barely sit comfortably in those little wooden boxes they try to pass off as seats (in the upper bowl anyway — I’m not bourgeoisie enough to sit down in the golds). My knees and shins are always jammed against the seat in front of me and I have to keep my knees together, otherwise I’m playing footsie with the dude next to me, and trust me most people DO NOT like playing footsie with me. I usually try to get standing room-belly bar tickets because those are much more comfortable for my awkwardly giant frame.

Wanye-cam! I like the Rexall experience, so will probably be blown away by the new arena. Maybe free beer if the Oilers score six?

Nothing’s really coming to mind here, I’m afraid. I’m just really not that interested in the venue; I’d much rather just watch the hockey played therein.

There would be a high-tech system that focused on fans who yelled shoot on the PP. When they yelled, they would be tasered, with only a small voltage but enough to stun them and shut them up.

I think it is important to have Cherry Coke Zero in every fountain.

I thought cup holders was a gimme but apparently not for people in the upper bowl. So I guess cup holders is the hill I’m still going to die on.

I’d like to have beer delivered by drones right to your seat. Think of how awesome it would be to order a beer from your phone and a little robot brings it right to you. That’s a future I’d like to be a part of!

That’s the gig in the MSM. If you rip somebody one day you better be there the next to answer for it. Lost count of how many angry managers, coaches and players etc have confronted me, but it ranged from physical confrontations — a boxing manager — to verbal threats of violence and lawsuits to garden variety name-calling. 

The vast majority of people you write negative things about handle it professionally as long as you keep the criticism professional and don’t make it personal. It’s easy to cheap shot somebody and call them names from afar, as too many bloggers do. Try framing a question, “Hey, Eberle, you sucked balls tonight. Can you comment on that?” while you’re standing in front of them in a dressing room surrounded by the their teammates and friends.

Not yet, thankfully. And in all honesty once I started working here I realized there was obviously much more of a possibility of that happening then when I was just a nameless TV production drone in Vancouver (rather than a nameless blogger in Edmonton), so I’ve started to temper some of my opinions on social media/blogs. Though I’ve always been of the opinion that people go way too far on social media as it is. It’s one thing to criticize Ben Scrivens for playing a bad game, but it’s a completely different ball game when you start hurling personal attacks and insults at a person because you take sports way too seriously. I’d rather have a constructive discussion about why I have a certain opinion than have to apologize for making a stupid joke I thought was “edgy” at the time. Also please don’t go back and look through my Tweets from years past, otherwise I’ll never be able to become Prime Minister!

Yes. No issue at all. I did get insight into the event I wrote about, rendering my criticism moot. It taught me to ask more questions about possible reasons before proceeding with the post or article.

A few times while I was in Oklahoma City, yeah, and it never came up (with players, coaches or executives). Most everyone I dealt with was thoroughly professional.

I believe it is important to show your face in the room the day of or after writing an article about a player or coach. Allow them the opportunity to approach you. I find it gutless when people who never go into a room attack a player personally in an article or on air. Easy to say things about someone when you never have to see them. I’ve had a few players express disagreement, and usually they voiced their opinion and we moved on. Wasn’t a big deal.

One time, however, I walked into the old Oilers dressing room. You walked down the ramp, turned to the left and the room opened. As I turned left, George Laraques came racing over to me. He was fuming. He was swearing at me. I had no idea what he was talking about. He asked me why I called him an idiot and a buffoon. I said I never did. He said BS and got right in my face, and then JJ Hebert, their PR guy, came running in and said, ”Georges, you have the wrong guy.”

Turns out one our morning show guys (Jake Daniels) had said it. George hadn’t heard it firsthand, but a few of his buddies had texted him. About 20 minutes later, he had calmed down and he walked over and said sorry. He said he read texts fast and thought it said Jason, not Jake. He was good about it. We laughed about it. I said I’d never seen him that mad other than when he fought Rob Ray. I was just glad he didn’t hit me when he was seething. I do recall gripping my mic and mic flash in my hand thinking if he swung I’d have to hit him back with that, which would have been a bad decision on my part…haha

This is a good question. As a player I never respected media who would say that player x,y or z absolutely sucked, and go on to rip a player a new one. It is great to get attention but really does not teach or inform his audience.

I think Jim Matheson is one of the best members of the media. He could be critical of a player or a play and he would back it up with his reasoning behind that critique. Players respect that approach much more than saying they were brutal that night.

I’ve never met any player I’ve written about, but I’ve had a player’s family bash my work online. Nick Schultz’ brother was pretty mad about my assessment of his trade value. I also don’t TRY to say anything negative, it’s just that sometimes saying something accurately about former Oiler players, coaches, or management comes across as negative because they were accurately terrible at their jobs.

No player or coach should ever take anything I say seriously. To this point I haven’t run into anyone that I’ve made fun of but I always try to make sure I’m talking about their job and not them personally. I think there’s a big difference in talking about someone’s work as opposed to them personally. 

Who should I pick first overall? How early should I draft Connor McDavid? Who will breakout this year? Do I really know what I’m doing? The DailyFaceoff draft kit is here to guide you through the fantasy darkness. 

Get the answers to your burning fantasy questions and more in this year’s Draft Kit from DailyFaceoff.com. Get 2015-2016 projections for more than 300 skaters and goalies! This complete draft kit is sure to help you rise the ranks of your online league, and take your place in the winner’s circle. For only $4.95 you can become the fantasy hockey wizard, pillar of internet success, and fantasy hero that you’ve always dreamed of becoming!